Real Freedom
by Skyshadow54
Summary: All Nitro really wants anymore is to be free. Sure, he's not forced to fight in the gladiator pits or work in the dangerous mines. But is a life on the streets, working as a scavenger and thief in return for protection really freedom? Rated T just in case for some violence and death.
1. Meet Nitro

**Summary: All Nitro really wants anymore is to be free. Sure, he's not forced to fight in the gladiator pits or work in the dangerous mines. But is a life on the street, working as a scavenger and thief in return for protection really freedom?**

 **Introduction: This was at first only going to remain only one chapter, but I've decided to continue the story.  
Real Freedom is in the same universe as my other stories, starting at roughly the same time as Origin Steeldust does. Events from this story will later on tie into that storyline, but both can be read with or without the other.**

 **Hope you enjoy :)**

 **Chapter One - Meet Nitro**

* * *

A pair of red optics watched the enforcers from the shadows. One of the officers stopped, looking towards the dark alley.

Noting his partner had paused, the second law enforcer also halted. "See something?"

The first enforcer peered carefully into the shadowy alley. "I thought I did. Must've been nothing."

"Alright. Whatever you say, mech," shrugged the second enforcer. He carried on, not waiting for his partner.

Hesitating a few astrokliks, the first enforcer scanned the surroundings once more. "I'm sure I saw something," he muttered, following his companion.

Hearing the retreating pedesteps, the mecha in the alley opened his optics. Cautiously poking the rest of his helm up from behind the large mound of debris he was hiding behind, he checked the entrance.

The enforcers had left.

Grinning, the young mechling vaulted expertly over the debris in his way and skulked to the edge of the alley. Taking one last look at the enforcers' backs, he darted out into the street and headed in the opposite direction.

Weaving in and out between the mecha heading home from their shifts at the nearby mine, the youngling ran swiftly and silently.

But the mecha's faceplates didn't escape his notice.

Each one looked tired. Some seemed ready to drop where they were.

Long hours for little or no pay took a toll on mecha. They'd go home, have barely enough energon to sustain themselves, and get as much recharge as their aching frames could let them. Then, they'd return to the mines and perhaps make it through the orn.

They'd do it over. And over. And over.

The mines were dangerous. Often there'd be accidents, leaving mecha wounded or offline.

Or so Nitro had heard. Actually, scratch that. He'd experienced it.

He was fortunate enough to have slipped through the cracks of the system and avoid being sent to the mines once he was old enough. But his creators hadn't been so lucky.

They had both offlined in mining accidents, mere jours apart, leaving Nitro to fend for himself. He'd mourned the loss of his family, still was mourning them vorns later. But he knew it was a part of life here.

The youngling had left their home as soon as he heard that his remaining creator was gone.

There was no way that he would wait around for someone to come and take him to work as a slave in place of his creators. It'd be better to live alone on the streets.

At the time of his creators' offlining, Nitro hadn't been old enough to work in the mines. Technically, and legally, he was still too young. But mecha here in Slaughter City didn't really care for laws. They'd try and get away with as much as they could.

And the enforcement? Nitro thought that was a joke.

There was no point in going to them for assistance. They'd only help you if they felt like it or if there was something in it for them.

If not, they'd look the other way. Pretend not to notice.

It made Nitro sick.

They were supposed to be the good mecha. Instead, they were almost as bad as everyone else.

Not that Nitro was a good mecha or anything either, but he had to do what he did to survive. He didn't have the freedom or luxury to choose any different.

Reaching his destination, the youngling looked around. No one noticed him. He was significantly smaller than the average youngling his age, and his dark grey and blue paint allowed him to blend in easily with the dark streets of his home city.

Made it pretty easy to get around without anyone bothering you.

Sidling up to the front door, Nitro reached behind him and started to pick the lock. He kept his frame in front of the door, facing the street. To anyone walking by, at first glance it would simply look like he was casually leaning against the building. His narrowed red optics darted around, watching everything.

Within a few kliks, he had unlocked the door. Carefully opening it enough for his slim frame to slip in, Nitro entered the store. Ducking to avoid the windows, he crept through the aisles, scanning the shelves quickly.

He had been in here before, scouting the place, so he knew where the security cameras were. That made it easier to avoid them and find what he wanted quickly.

Another advantage to being so small. You could follow behind mecha and pass for their youngling without them even noticing if you were quiet. Shopkeepers didn't tend to pay much attention to younglings unless they were causing trouble.

Finding the section he was looking for, Nitro quietly went through the items on the shelf. Examining them carefully, he selected a few things that were on his list. He subspaced them and made his way back the way he'd come.

When he was close to the front of the store, his sharp audios picked up two voices.

Nitro froze.

The enforcers had backtracked and were not very fair from the shop's door.

" _They must have followed me!"_ thought Nitro, crawling under a large piece of equipment. _"How did they find me again?"_

He quieted his venting and forced himself to listen to what they were saying. _"Maybe it's just a coincidence."_

"Why are we following a mechling again? This one can't be more than ten or eleven vorns judging by his size," one enforcer aske grumpily. "We've got better things to do then sparklingsit."

The second mech scoffed. "Right, cause making bets on gladiators is a better thing to do with your time. Someone reported a youngling pickpocketed him, he wants his stuff back. Said he'd pay to get it. This youngling we've been trying to follow matches the description."

Nitro sucked in a vent. _"I knew I should've been more careful. I could've picked a better time, when I was sure that mech wasn't looking."_

The grey and blue hadn't realized the mech had actually seen him well enough before he'd run away to give a description.

" _Scrap. Now what?"_ Nitro peered out from his hiding place. _"I can't let them catch me."_

"Okay, so we have a wannabe thief. What's he gonna do with some rich mech's belongings? Sell them?" the first enforcer complained. "We'll just check all the nearby places that buy that kind of thing and tell them we need it back. Why waste time on some youngling that likely doesn't even have the scrap anymore?"

"Cause the mech will pay a big reward to the enforcer who gets it back," snapped the other enforcer. "And you know what little thieves become? Big thieves. Who like to steal bigger things than pocket watches and credit pouches. Cause we need another one of those around here."

"Alright. Alright. I get it. We've lost the little sneak again, now what?"

"We keep an optic out for him. He's got to be around here somewhere."

" _Closer than you think."_ Nitro wriggled out from under the equipment and headed towards the back of the store. His escape route had been blocked, so he'd just have to find a new one.

Luckily for him, this building had a back door that had an easy lock to hack.

Staying out of sight of the camera, Nitro moved until he was underneath it. Once he'd switched the direction it was pointing, he got to work on the lock.

As soon as it was unlocked, the grey and blue mechling wrenched the door open and bolted.

He had to get away. Far away.

It was time to disappear.

Nitro checked over his shoulder. No one was following.

" _Good."_ He smirked as he ran. _"Pretty pathetic a thirteen-vorn-old can outsmart a couple enforcers that easy."_

* * *

After traveling over into the next sector, Nitro wandered into the yard of an abandoned warehouse.

As he walked through the gate, a large, brawny mech stepped out from behind the gatehouse. "Halt."

Nitro immediately did as he was told. "It's just me, Roadrage. Nitro," he said quickly, glancing apprehensively at the red and black mech.

"Oh," grunted Roadrage. "You can go ahead then."

With a quick nod, the thin youngling resumed his quick pace. He didn't notice the shadowy figure that dropped silently from the top of the gatehouse to join Roadrage.

"Razordrift," the red and black stated, jumping at the sudden appearance.

"Greetings, Roadrage," spoke the dark coloured mech lowly. "Nitro had returned unharmed I presume?"

"From what I seen," grumbled Roadrage, miffed at being spooked.

The other mech nodded. "Good, you were watching." He eyed the youngling who was now just entering the building. "He's becoming quite skilled isn't he? I could barely hear him coming."

Roadrage simply grunted his reply. Internally the big mech couldn't care less about the youngling or who was impressed by him.

"I think I will choose him as my apprentice," mused the ebony mech. "He has a natural talent as our leader predicted."

Roadrage didn't care. He just wondered when his unwanted company would leave.

Then, Razordrift did leave, without another word or glance.

Roadrage went back to his post, keeping an optic on the tall, wiry mech as he entered the warehouse by the same entrance that Nitro had.

There was something about that mech that Roadrage didn't like. And not just his usual dislike of mecha. This mech just seemed- Untrustworthy.

Which was saying something for where they lived.

* * *

"Nitro! Good to have you back mechling."

"Hi, Gadget," Nitro replied, nodding his greeting to the maroon and gold coloured mech. He strode over to the work table in the middle of the lab.

Gadget watched as the youngling pulled several objects from his subspace pockets.

"Are these what you need, Gadget?" Nitro asked, looking up at the short mech.

The inventor adjusted the optic lenses perched on his faceplate and picked up the first metal part. He muttered to himself as he proceeded to examine each one carefully.

The dark grey and navy youngling stood still, watching the mech from across the table.

Putting down the last piece, Gadget straightened and smiled widely. "Nitro, you've done it again! These are exactly what I need. They're in perfect condition too! You must have sorted through a bunch to get parts this good."

Nitro grinned, revealing sharp, pointed denta. "I had to check a couple places this offcycle. That one there was a hard find," he said, pointing at one of the pieces of metal. "It was from a junkyard. I had to take some stuff apart to get to it."

"Well, good searching," said Gadget happily. "I should be able to get the generator working. And maybe even finish at least one other project." He scooped up the assortment of metal pieces and moved over to a different work table that sat by the back wall. Setting them down, he turned back to Nitro. "Thanks, mechling. Any trouble this time?"

Nitro's face turned down in frown. "Somehow, two enforcers managed to follow me around a bit, but I lost them in the next sector."

"Hmm, that's not good," muttered Gadget. He quickly strode around the table to stand in front of Nitro.

Looking the youngling over carefully, the inventor commanded, "Lift your servos for me, please."

Nitro did as he was told, watching Gadget examine the joints in his shoulder armour.

"I don't see any trackers. Can I give you a quick scan to be sure?" Gadget asked when he was finished.

"Sure," Nitro shrugged.

A beam of light passed over him as the inventor used his scanning device. Nitro fidgeted. It sort of tickled.

Gadget switched the device off and returned the tool to it's place. "Hmm, I can't find anything. They must have just been able to follow you without a tracker. You'll have to be more careful, Nitro. An enforcer catching you wouldn't be good."

Nitro looked down at his pedes. "I know," he whispered.

A hand was laid on his shoulderplate, making him look up. Gadget's kind faceplate gazed down at him.

"Ah, mechling. I didn't mean to scold you. I just don't want to see you hurt anymore is all."

"I know, Gadget," Nitro replied, giving his friend a weak smile.

"Well, come on then, I'll show you what I've been working on while you have your energon."

Gadget marched quickly over to the workbench against the left wall, beckoning for Nitro to follow.

The youngling hurried after him, curiosity raised. The inventor was always working on something fascinating.

At least in Nitro's opinion.

He hopped up on the table, picking up the small cube of energon that had been prepared for him. He sipped some of it, relishing in the warmness as it went down.

Gadget, even in his busyness, never forgot that his young friend liked his energon warm after returning from scavenging. Nitro still hadn't figured out how the inventor knew when he was coming so he could have it ready.

"Right. So, Nitro. See this part that you brought here?" Gadget began, holding up the piece of metal to show the youngling.

"Uh huh," Nitro nodded eagerly. "Is that the one that goes here?"

Gadget glanced at where he was pointing and grinned broadly. "Yes! Exactly! And that will turn this piece, which makes that one- "

The inventor paused, looking towards the doorway. Nitro followed his gaze. Another mech, this one tall and very broad, stood with a dark frown on his faceplate.

"Oh, greetings, Torque," Gadget said cheerfully. "Was there something you needed?"

"The boss wants to talk to the youngling," the tan and grey mech grumbled. "Sent me to tell you that he's waiting in the old head office."

"Oh. Well, then," said Gadget, trying to hide his disappointment. "You better run along, Nitro. I'll just have to show you this later."

Nitro bit back a protest. He didn't want to go see their leader. He'd much rather stay and watch Gadget work on his inventions.

Not that he really had a choice.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Nitro drained the rest of his energon and slid off the worktable. "See you later, Gadget," he said dismally, trudging towards Torque.

"Yes, Nitro. Come back whenever you're free," Gadget called after him.

" _Free. Right,"_ Nitro thought.

Torque stomped back down the hall from where he'd come, Nitro followed silently behind.

Apparently, he was lagging too far behind.

"Come on, pipsqueak. Let's go," the big mech growled, checking over his shoulder to see that Nitro listened.

Nitro hustled faster, his shorter pedes working hard to keep up with Torque's long strides.

The youngling frowned, glaring with narrowed optics at the tall mech's backplates. _"He's walking faster on purpose. Giant miserable grouch."_

Too soon for Nitro's liking, they arrived at the warehouse's head office. Torque knocked on the door and quietly waited.

"Enter," came the deep voiced reply.

Nitro couldn't help but shiver slightly. He really didn't like the boss.

Torque pressed the button for the door to slide open and shoved Nitro none too gently inwards. He closed the door behind the youngling and walked away, his loud pedesteps fading quickly.

Nitro nervously stood where he'd been pushed. Near the back of the medium-sized office, a tall, well-built mech sat in the shadows behind the desk. Even with Nitro's superb night vision, only the mech's silhouette and optics were visible.

The two mecha were silent for several kliks. Nitro grew more and more uncomfortable.

It wasn't the darkness that bothered him. He didn't mind the dark, it helped him hide from those that would hurt him or take him to the mines that had offlined his creators.

What bothered Nitro, was the only thing that he could see clearly in the room.

The bright red, piercing optics.

Nitro had always been afraid of those optics. He knew it was nonsense, but it felt like they could see right into his spark. That they could see his thoughts. That their owner could somehow see everything that made Nitro himself, even down to the parts the youngling hid or wished to forget.

Additionally, Nitro was afraid of the hate that dwelt in those hard optics.

His boss hated everyone. It didn't matter what class or caste you were from. Or where you were from. He hated you.

Nitro wondered if the mech even liked himself.

"So," the seated mech finally said, breaking the silence.

The youngling jumped almost nearly a third of his own height in surprise, holding back an undignified squeak.

The mech chuckled darkly. "Jumpy are we this offcycle, Nitro? I assume you had a good run?"

"Yes, Sir," Nitro answered quietly.

"Good," the mech rumbled. "Razordrift tells me he wishes to take you on as his apprentice. He has observed you and thinks you're the one he wants to train."

Nitro furrowed his optic ridges. Razordrift was an extremely skilled fighter. Why would he want to train a skinny orphaned youngling?

"He claims that when you returned earlier, he barely could hear you coming," the shadowy mech continued. "If that is true, your stealth alone has greatly increased since you joined us several jours ago. Razordrift was impressed."

The confused youngling said nothing. He had already been trained basic fighting by Razordrift and a few other mecha. _"What would being his apprentice mean?"_ he wondered in his helm, not daring to ask aloud.

"As you know, it is very hard to impress Razordrift. And I can't disappoint my best minion. So, do you accept his offer to fully train you?"

The unspoken deal here was the same as always. Do what I say, you get protection and energon.

Knowing he didn't really have a say in the matter, Nitro nodded. "I'd be honoured, Sir."

"Splendid," his boss said, sounding like he didn't actually care.

Nitro knew he didn't.

"I'll let him know. You can go back to- Whatever it was you were doing," the mech said carelessly.

Dipping his helm politely, Nitro backed away to the door. Pressing the button, he slipped out as soon as he could, rapidly closing the small opening behind him.

Running at full-speed, the grey and blue youngling flew down the halls. He didn't have a specific direction, he just wanted to get away from the scary mech that sat in the head office.

Nitro ended up on the warehouse's roof. He sat against one of the crumbling smokestack to calm his rapid venting.

He stared up at the dark sky. There were no stars. Not that that was a surprise. Nitro had seldom seen stars above Slaughter City in his short lifetime.

There was too much smoke. Too much darkness for the light to get through.

" _Similar to down here,"_ Nitro thought bitterly.

He sighed. Training with Razordrift would mean he'd be better able to fend for himself, which was good. Especially if he planned on leaving some orn.

It also meant that once he was trained well enough, that he would be expected to do at least some of the things that Razordrift did.

Nitro wasn't sure that he was willing to participate in the gladiator pits. He didn't want to offline mecha.

Maybe he should work on his hacking skills. If he was useful enough that way, then maybe they wouldn't put him in the pits.

The youngling frowned. As good as he was at fending for himself and living on the streets, he still could get into trouble. If he got caught, he'd be put to work as a slave in the mines or the gladiator pits for sure.

Right now, he needed the protection that he had here. And he would get his altmode upgrade soon. If he left before that, then he would have to find a medic that was willing to do it for almost no credits.

Not to mention energon was harder to get if you lived on the streets. Nitro knew that from experience.

He'd have to stay here. At least for now.

" _At least until Razordrift has trained me and I get my altmode. When I can fully take care of myself, then I'll leave,"_ Nitro thought. _"I'll miss Gadget, and he'll miss me. But I think he'd understand. He might even leave too."_

Gadget was probably wondering where he was.

Nitro got to his pedes, stretches his long limbs as he did. Gazing up at the sky once more, he turned and went back inside.

One orn, he'd get out of here. But for now, he'd do as he was told and stick as close as he could to Gadget.

One orn, he'd leave Slaughter City. Then, he'd be free.

* * *

 **Author's Note:  
1\. I don't own Transformers. Nitro, Gadget, Torque, Roadrage, Razordrift, and their boss are my oc's.  
2\. I know there is a canon character named Nitro. This one is different. :P**

 **Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you think? :)**


	2. A Choice

**Chapter Two – A Choice**

Two vorns later.

* * *

The two-wheeler ducked under a low pipe, pausing underneath. He crouched, listening.

All was quiet.

Too quiet.

Frowning, the mechling stayed where he was. He'd already dealt with any cameras in the area of the building he would be in. So, unless someone had fixed them, there was no way he'd been spotted.

And how could someone have seen him enter in the first place.

Maybe he was overthinking things.

Still, you couldn't afford to be careless. This was a dangerous game to play. If you got caught, in best case scenario, you were offlined on sight.

Opening an internal comm, Nitro stayed put, watching and listening.

" _What is it?"_

Nitro could imagine that the gladiator was not impressed.

Too bad for Razordrift.

" _Something's off. It's too quiet in here,"_ Nitro replied.

" _What do you want me to do about it? Fly over there and cause some trouble?"_

Grimacing, Nitro rolled his optics. _"You know what? Never mind. I'll figure it out myself."_

" _That's what you were sent to do."_

Disconnecting the comm, the two-wheeler stealthily crept back the way he'd come. Keeping his senses alert, he went as fast as possible, helm low as to not hit it against the low ceiling.

Lucky he was still short for his age. Otherwise it would be much harder to move around down there.

Under the floor of the factory, there were all the building's inner workings. It was basically like another floor, except the ceiling was a lot lower and it was filled with pipes and electrical cables. There was room to move about, but it was designed for maintenance by opening sections in the floor or sending minicons down.

A tight squeeze in some spaces for even Nitro.

Pausing under a grate in the floor above, the grey and blue listened.

Still nothing.

" _Where are the night guards?"_ Nitro thought.

They must be elsewhere. Perhaps congregating in the break room or something. It wasn't the shift change yet.

Nitro shrugged, then moved around the grate, looking out. Seeing no one, he cautiously opened it and climbed out onto the main floor.

No mecha to be seen.

Smirking, the thief quickly moved on down the hall.

It simply was too easy some offcycles.

In the vorns he'd been doing this, Nitro had noticed something.

Some mecha were careful, others were not. Some were just plain stupid and basically handed him the stuff he was there for.

Nitro still wasn't sure how he liked stealing, but the pay was good. Better than living on the streets by himself.

Not that that would be a problem anymore.

By now, Nitro was a formidable opponent, having been trained by Razordrift as his apprentice. He still couldn't beat the gladiator, but had won almost every single fight with anyone else he'd fought from their group.

He'd even gotten the best of Roadrage a few times, earning the mech's respect.

What little respect Roadrage had for mecha that is.

Entering the room he wanted, Nitro quickly took stock of what was there. Too bad either Torque, Roadrage, or one of the others wasn't here. They could take a lot more than him.

Nonetheless, Nitro carefully loaded his subspace pockets with what he could and left.

He'd gotten what he'd come for. Now it was time to make his exit.

Which proved to be just as easy as entering. The guards turned out to indeed be neglecting their duties and didn't notice him walk right by the open doorway.

" _Pathetic,"_ the two-wheeler thought. Letting himself out into the yard, he scanned the surrounding area.

Two guards, actually doing their job, kept watch by the front gate.

Likely two were at the back as well.

Swiftly moving along the wall of the building, keeping to the shadows, Nitro headed towards the side of it.

Reaching the fence, he took one more look. The guards hadn't spotted him.

As agile as a cybercat, the mechling climbed up the fence. He'd already cut the power to the electric field when he'd come in.

Perching on top of the high fence, Nitro paused again. Gazing upwards, he searched the sky.

No stars. Just like most offcycles.

" _I could leave this offcycle. Head to Kaon or somewhere. Anywhere other than here,"_ he thought, keeping a sharp audio out as he considered _. "No one would know. Not until I was far away, too far to find."_

In the past, Nitro would persuade himself to return because Gadget was still there. The mechling wanted to take the inventor with him when he left.

It was the least he could do for the mech who'd basically taken care of him as long as he'd been with the group.

Razordrift had taught him to fight. Roadrage had taught him to hunt. Gadget had taught him everything else.

Now, Gadget was gone.

There was nothing he could have done about it. There was nothing worth going back for now.

Nitro couldn't care less about anyone else. He knew he could make use of his skills elsewhere. In the Underworld, you could easily get a job if you were good.

And even though he was young, Nitro was good.

" _So, what's stopping me?"_

Firming his expression, Nitro readied himself to leap off of the fence.

A noise from behind made him pause.

" _The guards."_

They were good, being fairly quiet in their approach. It was the two from the front by the direction they were coming.

Nitro frowned, staying still and pretending he hadn't heard them. He must have been more visible than he thought.

Chuckling lowly, he tilted his helm slightly to hear better. _"I suppose perching on top of a fence in plain view doesn't exactly count as hiding. At least offline mechs don't talk."_

When the two guards were in range, Nitro spun to face them, picking two flat sphere-like objects from his waist as he did. In a quick, fluid motion, he leapt from the fence, throwing his weapons. As they flew, the circular objects' deadly spikes emerged.

The guards, surprised by the thief's sudden movement, froze.

Their mistake was fatal.

The spiked throwing stars hit their mark perfectly, imbedding in their victims' chest plates. The mechs fell to the ground with a cry of pain, dropping their weapons.

Nitro landed silently on the ground. He sauntered towards the fallen mechs, looking them over.

The smaller of the two was already offline, his armour was lighter, allowing the weapon to penetrate his spark.

The thief simply pulled his throwing star out of the already greying frame. A grim smile on his faceplate, he turned his full attention to the other guard.

The larger one was still online, attempting to pull the throwing star out. His hand was covered in energon, both from the wound in his chest and new ones on his hands from the protruding spike.

"Need some help getting that out?" asked Nitro, standing over the mech. With a dark, sharp-dentaed smile, the mechling lifted his servo. Pressing a small button on the side of his wrist guard with a digit, he swung his servo outwards.

The guard cried out in pain as the throwing star first imbedded deeper, then ripped out the side of his chassis.

It then, covered in energon, returned to Nitro's waiting hand. Releasing the button, the mechling caught the weapon, now with it's spikes folded in.

"Now," Nitro said, bending to pick up the guards' weapons. "I must leave. Thank you for the pistols."

With that, the mechling attached the handguns to his waist and ran off, leaving the two offline guards where they had fell.

Running away from the factory, Nitro made a decision. He stopped, looking in the direction of headquarters, the place that had been his home for just over two vorns.

He smiled darkly. It had never really been his home.

Time to figure out where home, and freedom, really was.

With a mock salute down the street, Nitro transformed into his motorcycle alt mode. He sped off into the offcycle, quickly leaving the sector behind. Sector after sector he drove through, until he'd left Slaughter City altogether.

In the middle of the broken road, the young mechling rose up on one tire and spun, letting out a wild whoop of joy.

He'd done it. He'd finally left his life behind.

Nitro was free.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave any comments you may have, I'd love to hear what you think. :)**


	3. Company

**Chapter Three - Company**

 **Hello again! And we're back with another chapter.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

After driving for a few breems, Nitro spotted a familiar shape up ahead.

" _What is Roadrage doing way out here?"_ the two-wheeler wondered to himself. _"Can't be looking for me..."_

Figuring it was safe to approach the armoured terrain vehicle, Nitro sped ahead, quickly catching up.

Hearing the familiar engine, Roadrage stopped, pulling off the road. Nitro came to a halt, not far off.

The two transformed and stood studying each other warily for several kliks.

"What are you doing out here, mechling?" Roadrage grumbled, crossing his servos.

"I could ask you the same thing," Nitro shot back. He tilted his helm, narrowing his optics. "Did the boss give you a job this far out?"

Roadrage scanned the horizon behind the short youngling. He then turned his attention back to him. "No. I'm leaving."

Nitro's optics widened. "Leaving? As in, you're done?"

"Yep."

"Oh."

They stood in silence for a few kliks.

"You are too I'm guessing," grunted the red and black thug.

"Yes, I'm sick of it," Nitro growled.

Roadrage scoffed, rolling his optics. "That's not news to me, mechling. You've been wanting to leave for awhile now."

"Who told you that," hissed the grey and blue menacingly. He took a few steps forward, baring his denta. "Does Razordrift or the boss know?"

"No, I doubt it. You hid it well from them. Let yourself be less guarded with me and Gadget I guess."

Nitro relaxed. "Oh. Where are you going?"

Turning, Roadrage moved back onto the road. "Kaon."

"Oh. Me too."

The hulking warrior let out a sigh. "Just when I think I'd gotten rid of them all," he muttered. Looking over his shoulder, he begrudgingly asked, "You coming with me then?"

Shrugging, Nitro followed him onto the road and transformed. "I suppose I might as well. Since we're both going the same direction."

Roadrage said nothing more. He transformed back into his alt and rumbled off.

Nitro hit the accelerator and followed. He could easily outpace the bigger mech, but stayed just behind him.

" _Well, this sure wasn't how I expected this offcycle to go,"_ Nitro thought.

" _I don't like this youngling. At least he's quiet. I really hope he finds someone more interesting to follow when we get to Kaon,"_ thought Roadrage. _"And I better not find anyone else who wants to follow me around. Just my luck Nitro decided to up and leave the same time I do. And the same road. Seriously, Primus must hate me."_

* * *

" _Well, Kaon isn't a whole lot different than Slaughter City. So far,"_ thought the blue and grey as he trailed his traveling companion.

Nitro and Roadrage had reached Kaon a few orns after they'd begun traveling. So far, Roadrage had tolerated the young mechling's presence.

Just like he tolerated everyone's presence.

Nitro wasn't sure why Roadrage didn't just go live by himself in the Manganese Mountains or the Cable Jungles.

"Okay, so now that we are in Kaon, what do you plan to do?" Nitro asked, looking up at Roadrage.

"Try to find some energon. Not get mugged or offlined. I dunno," Roadrage grunted. He continued to walk, seeming to know where he was going.

Nitro did not know where he was going, so he continued to follow Roadrage.

A mecha starting following them, just far enough away that they didn't notice, but close enough to keep track of them. Soon, another one joined.

After a while, Nitro got the feeling he was being watched.

Moving closer to Roadrage, he gestured for the big mech to lower his helm. Once the mech did, Nitro lowly said, "Think someone's watching or following. You feel it?"

"Yep," came the grunted response.

"Think it's a friendly?"

Roadrage snorted. "Likely not, Nitro. Be on guard."

"I always am."

The two carried on as if they hadn't noticed. The mecha still followed at a distance.

"This way," growled Roadrage lowly. He led the way down a rickety staircase leading to the next layer.

Once beneath the surface, they found a place to watch.

Shortly after they'd hidden themselves, a small femme came slinking down the stairs. She was young, possibly no older than Nitro. Her optics darted about as she ventured carefully from the surface. The way she moved was like a predator, hunting her prey. She carried a staff in her right servo, the weapon almost as tall as herself.

Behind her, came a mech, a little older than her. He was of an average build and height, several feet taller than the femmeling. Even stealthier than his companion, also checking his surroundings carefully. At his waist, several daggers in sheaths were attached.

"Siblings," muttered Roadrage lowly, watching their pursuers warily. "Trained to work as a team no doubt."

"Well," Nitro whispered back, silently sliding a dagger from the sheath at his waist. "So are we."

Sending the mechling a slight grin, Roadrage pulled a gun from subspace and moved around the side of the building they were hiding beside.

Nitro rapidly found a way to scale the short building. Laying almost flat, he crawled to the edge, peering over it.

Roadrage had positioned himself right at the corner, blending in with the shadows.

The two mecha kept coming, looking around in puzzlement.

They were not doing a very good job at finding their lost quarry.

Once in reach, Roadrage sprang forward, grabbing the mechling. He spun him around to face his sister, pinning his servos to his sides with one of his.

The femmeling, overcoming her surprise quickly, brought her staff forward, the end pointed towards her brother's captor.

"Let him go," she hissed, plating on her shoulders and back rising slightly. Her doorwings twitched as she pressed a button on the side of her staff. Electricity arced around the end.

Roadrage smirked, adjusting his grip on the mechling. He touched the end of his gun's barrel to his captive's helm.

Nitro chose that moment to strike.

Flipping himself off the building, he landed silently in a crouch behind the femmeling.

Her brother saw and tried to warn her, flicking one of his doorwings towards the two-wheeler.

She began to turn, but not fast enough.

With a swift kick, her staff went flying, clattering across the ground. Nitro closed the distance between them and brought his servo around the femmeling.

"I wouldn't move," he warned, angling his knife towards her neck cables.

"Leave her alone," snarled the brother, daring to struggle against his captor's brawny servo.

"Why were you following us?" growled Roadrage.

"What's it to you?" snapped the femme.

Nitro rolled his optics. _"Seriously?"_

"Tell us," prodded the red and black, pressing his gun harder against the mechling's helm. "Or I'll blow his helm off. And you'll lose yours."

To extend the point, Nitro brought his knife closer, touching the edge to the sister's neck cables.

"Well, what do you think?" she spat angrily. "You're not from around here. Might've had something of interest."

"Taser," her brother said calmly. "Calm down."

"Calm down?" she asked incredulously. "Umm, hello. What do you want me to do? They caught us! Say, my name is Taser, he's Dagger and we were trying to steal from you? Please let us go so we can try again later."

Her brother, apparently named Dagger, let out a loud vent. "Sure. Whatever."

Nitro and Roadrage exchanged a look.

"Amateurs. Obviously," grunted Roadrage. "Look we'll let you go, but only if you get lost. Fast. If we catch you two again, you're goners. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Dagger said quietly.

"Fine," hissed Taser, crossing her servos.

Roadrage released Dagger, nodding for Nitro to do the same to Taser. The siblings quickly moved out of reach, watching the two carefully.

"Hey. You're about the same age as us," Taser said, taking a look at Nitro, whom she hadn't seen yet. "How come you were able to sneak up on us?"

"Cause he knows how to properly sneak up on mecha," Roadrage muttered. He glared menacingly down at the pair. "What are you two still here for?"

The siblings exchanged a glance, then looked back at Roadrage.

"Did- Did you teach him?" Dagger asked, doorwings twitching. "You are stealthy too."

Roadrage rolled his optics, knowing exactly where he was going with the conversation.

"Yes, some. He had a different teacher as well. No, I'm not teaching you two anything. If you want to go find this one's other teacher, be my guest. Just know, he's more likely to offline you then teach you."

With that, Roadrage began walking away. He didn't go back up to the surface, but kept moving in the direction they had been previously.

Nitro gave the siblings one last unfriendly glance before following.

The sound of two pairs of pedesteps began following them.

"Not more younglings following me," groaned Roadrage. He refused to acknowledge them, unless they decided to try and be hostile again.

Nitro, however, kept a watchful optic on them. Yes, they were somewhat inexperienced. But, they were sneaky. He had a feeling that they knew how to use their weapons at least decently too.

Dagger seemed to be the calmer, more sensible of the two. He watched Nitro and Roadrage carefully, observing them and readying himself in case they decided to attack again.

Taser was a little less even tempered it seemed. Possibly more violent as well. Right now, she was curious about the two strangers.

"If you two don't know your way around, then you should find someone who does," Roadrage called over his shoulder. "I haven't been in Kaon for vorns."

Nitro knew he was telling them to go away. They did too.

"Actually," Taser said, choosing to ignore the hint. "We don't exactly know our way around. Yet."

"Great. I don't care," grumbled Roadrage.

"Have you been to Kaon before?" Taser asked, directing her question at Nitro.

Who decided to ignore her.

" _Maybe if we ignore them, they'll just leave on their own,"_ he thought.

"I don't think I've heard him talk. Okay, one sentence," whispered Dagger. "But that is it. And it was a pretty common thing for mecha to say when holding someone hostage."

"Interesting," Taser whispered back. "Think he doesn't know anything else?"

Overhearing them, Nitro rolled his optics, picking up the pace a bit. He sent Roadrage an internal comm.

" _Can we lose these two? They are annoying."_

Roadrage quickly replied. _"I would really enjoy getting rid of them. But the parasites_ should _leave on their own. Eventually."_

Somehow, Nitro doubted that.

* * *

"So, you've been wandering around Kaon for a few decacycles now," Dagger said.

He sat on the ground, sharpening one of his knives. His sister sat beside him, watching. A bored expression was on her faceplate.

Nitro glanced down at them from his perch on a nearby lamppost. "Don't like it, go away."

"Wow, the quiet one speaks such wise words," droned Taser, not looking up.

"I don't have a specific destination," grunted Roadrage. He was taking stock of what they had managed to steal that orn.

Most of the stuff, Nitro had acquired. Roadrage found some energon being stored in an unsupervised storage building. The two mecha that decided to tag along had proved themselves semi-useful and had found some things too.

"Oh." Dagger glanced up at the large mech. "We could go to Polyhex."

"That where you're from?"

The siblings nodded.

"Why don't you go back there," muttered Nitro.

"We came here to see what it was like. Everybody boasts about Kaon being a great place to get a job in the Underworld," said Taser, straightening. She shrugged. "They lied."

"Actually," Nitro corrected, looking down at the others, "There is a lot of opportunity. You mustn't be looking in the right places. Or have the right skill set."

"Nitro's right," said Roadrage. "What are you two good at. I know you're not good assassins. At least, only to normal mecha. Not fellow mecha who know how to fight."

"You're average thieves," Nitro added.

"We're- Well, we haven't figured it out yet," Dagger admitted begrudgingly.

Roadrage huffed a vent of air. "Better hurry and figure it out then younglings. You won't survive long in Kaon if you don't. Unless you wanna end up in the mines or gladiator pits, those are easy to get into."

"What do you suggest?" Dagger inquired, arching an optic ridge. "You two obviously know about this stuff. We've seen you in action. I'm assuming that you were part of some gang of some sort."

"Of a sort," hissed Nitro. He leapt from his perch and walked away. "I'm heading to the surface. Gonna scout around."

"Can I come with you?" Taser asked, already on her pedes. "I'll be quiet."

With no emotion on his face, Nitro stopped and turned. "You have that ability? I don't care, just know that if you get in trouble, I ain't helping you."

"Fine. Same goes for you then," grumbled Taser, hustling to catch up with him.

"That will go well," muttered Roadrage, watching Nitro disappear. "Dagger, make yourself useful and pack those energon crates again. We'll move them to that building over there, make it our headquarters temporarily."

"I'd rather go with my sister." Dagger was already striding past the big warrior, heading after the two younger mecha.

Normally, Roadrage wouldn't let someone under him ignore an order.

This time, he let it slide, sending an internal comm to his young partner.

Dagger didn't notice the silence from the mech. He was too focused on trying to catch up.

* * *

Nitro moved stealthily along a rooftop, just out of sight of the mecha below. He scanned the crowd. No one caught his interest.

Yet.

Not far behind him, Dagger and Taser watched.

Rolling his optics, Nitro moved closer to the edge of the roof and sat in a crouch.

Those two weren't gonna learn anything from him sitting way back there.

Unless they were trying to learn by watching how to watch mecha without their notice.

So far, they were failing at that. Nitro could pick up almost every move they made.

" _They're so noisy. It's a good thing I'm content to sit here. If I was actually hunting someone, they'd destroy any advantage I had,"_ he thought to himself. He frowned, glancing back at them over his shoulder.

"What are you two doing?"

The siblings looked at him, confused.

"Uh, watching you?" Taser replied, holding up her hands and shrugging. "What's it look like?"

"More like, what does it sound like," spat Nitro. He crept away from the edge and sat on his haunches several yards away from them. "Look, you two are making a racket. I'm lucky I don't have to concentrate on anything right now. If you don't learn to move quietly, then you won't make it here. You won't be sneaking up on anyone. Someone will sneak up on you and you won't notice."

"What do mean, we're making a racket?" hissed Dagger. "We're just sitting here."

Nitro narrowed his optics. "Yeah. And shuffling forward every few astrokliks. And fidgeting."

"What do you want us to do then?" Taser snapped.

"Stay still."

With that, Nitro rose. Running to the side, he jumped onto the roof of the adjacent building.

Taser and Dagger watched in some awe as the two-wheeler kept going, leaping over the gaps between rooftops.

"Wait! Where's he going?" sputtered Taser, scrambling to her pedes. "We're gonna lose him!"

The two siblings followed as quick as they could. Never having done this sort of thing before, they were afraid they'd miss and fall to the ground below. Offlining themselves.

Though neither one would admit it.

"How does he do that?" Dagger asked, stumbling slightly as he landed. "He's so quick!"

Taser was keeping up with her brother as best she could. "I don't know! His pedes are shorter than yours!"

Dagger sent her a look before hopping over to the next roof. "Well, you're no taller than him."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"No idea."

As the siblings were attempting to chase him, Nitro was having no trouble at all. Like he was on a casual run, he sped above the streets like it was nothing. Pausing a klik, he checked behind him.

He couldn't help but smirk.

The parasites were way behind him.

"Roadrage," Nitro said into his comm. "We might be able to lose these two faster than we thought."

"Oh?" asked the red and black thug. "Where'd you take them?"

"The rooftops."

"Good move. Disappear, then make your way back. I'll start moving. Meet me at the place I said earlier."

"Got it."

Nitro turned off his comm and started running again. He quickly picked up the pace.

The siblings might be fast in their alt modes, but Nitro was pretty certain he was faster.

Definitely faster when they were on pede.

It wouldn't take him long to completely lose them. Then, he would make his way to the ground, find an entrance to the second level, and take a few twists and turns. After that, he'd head to meet Roadrage.

If Dagger and Taser managed to track him down after all that, he would be surprised.

Nitro grinned widely as he ran. They were finally going to get rid of the two.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Threats

**Chapter Four - Threats**

The ebony black jet roared across Slaughter City's sky, not caring who he alerted his presence to as he went about his business.

Razordrift was returning from yet another offcycle of competing in the gladiatorial pit.

Boring.

It wasn't like anyone in his area had a chance of beating him. He basically got credits for simply showing up. The pit's owner never brought in anyone good enough to give Razordrift much competition anymore.

Tragic really, that there weren't any decent fighters in the surrounding sectors.

Maybe he'd have to visit a different pit for a while. Even one in Kaon or the barren parts of the Badlands perhaps.

It would be at the very least, a change in scenery.

Other aspects of Razordrift's life were starting to get boring too. His boss sent him and the others to rob and sabotage the same Council owned establishments. Terrorize the same groups of mecha. Assassinate mecha from the same group.

It was utterly monotonous.

Oh, it was alright for mecha who had much to learn still like young Nitro and some of the others.

But for Razordrift?

He knew his experience and talents would be useful, and perhaps more appreciated, elsewhere. Somewhere more to his liking than the old warehouse their crime boss operated out of.

"When was the last time he sent me to do something interesting?" Razordrift asked himself out loud as he drew near home.

After considering for a few kliks, he remembered. "Ah, yes. The heist at one of the Towers. Now, that, was exciting. Too bad we don't do that more often.

"Hmm, even graffitiing that Hall of Records or something historic like that would be better than breaking into the same factories every jour or two."

The jet chuckled to himself as he transformed and dropped to the warehouse roof. He casually rose from his crouch and strode to the hatch. Once he entered, he began walking towards his personal quarters.

" _No wonder Roadrage left,"_ the gladiator mused internally. _"He's a smart mech, getting out while the goings good. No telling how our esteemed boss will react once he realizes he's losing mecha._

" _And Nitro never returned from the run I sent him on three orns ago. I highly doubt he's offlined, he's too clever for that. Plus, the guards at that factory are the absolute worst. It's not surprising that the mechling ran off. He never was too happy here. Especially after the inventor offlined."_

Razordrift paused at his door, punching in the key code before entering. After locking the sliding door behind him, the gladiator stood, considering.

With a curt nod, he then began to sort through his belongings. After this, he'd go to the armoury and see what was there.

* * *

Lifting a hand, Razordrift knocked on the door of what used to be the warehouse's head office.

"Enter," called a voice, neutral in tone.

The gladiator slid open the door and entered the dark room. Once he'd shut out the dim light from the hallway, Razordrift turned his attention to the shadowy mech seated near the back of the room.

All that was visible in the darkness, was the two pairs of red optics of the two mechs.

"What brings you here, Razordrift?" the crime boss asked, a clearly fake pleasant tone in his voice.

"Are you aware that both Roadrage and Nitro left and have not yet returned?" Razordrift inquired coolly, getting straight to the point.

"Ah, I wondered why I hadn't seen Roadrage lately. Or the supplies that Nitro was supposed to retrieve," mused the mech behind the desk. "Did they offline on their missions?"

Razordrift rolled his optics. "If they had, I would have said so."

"Hmm, so they decided to run. How unfortunate. They were some of my best."

The boss picked up a dagger from his desk and began fiddling with it, carving the tip into the top of the desk.

Ignoring the scraping noise, the winged gladiator crossed his servos. "True. You don't have much going for you or your operation here anymore."

The scraping continued.

"How so."

"You are running out of things worth doing."

"I keep those I terrorize wary of me. I have no need to continually spread my reach when mecha's fear already does that for me. I simply need to strike in a new place just often enough to give them a concern that they might be next. Our domain gradually gains ground. It works quite well.

"Mecha fear us enough to have a healthy respect and to keep away. Enforcers here in Slaughter City are paid generously by me to keep quiet and leave us alone. And any enforcement from the outside wouldn't dare step pede without enough reason to.

"What complaint can you possibly have. Your career is set. You, Razordrift, might as well be king of your gladiator circle."

The gladiator scoffed. "The ignorant fool. We've had this conversation before and my reasoning goes nowhere. It's pointless."

Taking a step forward he spoke again. "You may think you are untouchable, Savage. But unlike you, I don't stay hidden in the dark all orn. I know what the real world looks like and it's not as simple as your little fantasy one.

"Something is coming. Surely, you've noticed it. Mecha speak of the gladiator from Kaon. They think he will be quite successful in this revolution of his. And some of his closer followers, they know he is up to more than he claims."

The pair of optics across the room narrowed. "Surely you do not believe that I am blind to this Megatronus' claims, Razordrift. I am very aware of what he intends to do, whether he himself has fully realized what that is or what it will truly mean."

"And that is," Razordrift prompted, somewhat sceptical.

"War."

" _So, he does figure on that too,"_ thought the gladiator. _"Well at least this fool is not totally a lost cause. I actually wouldn't be surprised if he's somehow in on it."_

"I suppose then, I do not have to warn you of that, having also come to that conclusion."

"No, you do not."

"Regardless of this and how you may or not be involved, I still say your operation is failing."

"And why is that, Razordrift."

The gladiator snorted. "The inventor is offline. Your two best thieves are gone.

"Now, you have lost your top warrior and gladiator."

The scraping noise from the dagger, which had been going on still throughout the conversation, suddenly jerked to a halt with a screech.

"Excuse me?"

Razordrift said nothing, simply staring back into the cold, menacing optics that bored into him.

"Razordrift," the mech said, smiling darkly. "You're giving up a very unique and exclusive opportunity here." He paused, gripping the handle of his dagger tight. "If I were you, I would not throw it away. You would be wise to stay."

Hearing the veiled threat, Razordrift smirked. He shook his helm, calmly returning, "And I would not come after me or try to locate me, Savage. It would not be wise. For your prolonged existence."

With that, the gladiator stepped back, opening the door behind him. Then, he turned and left without another glance.

Savage snarled, driving his dagger into his desk up to the hilt. With narrowed optics, he stood up and began to pace.

"You will not get away with this, Razordrift. That, is a guarantee."

* * *

As Razordrift flew away from the warehouse, he pondered what he'd just done.

Savage may send out other mecha to do his dirty work for him, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous himself. He had power and influence throughout the Badlands and some other areas of the planet.

But even by himself, the crime boss was a force to be reckoned with.

He was the boss for a reason.

Razordrift changed direction, heading to the south. Knowing that from now on, he would have to watch his own back even more.

Whether Savage sent someone after him or came to hunt him down himself, Razordrift would be ready.

Because, the gladiator knew, the time would inevitably come.

He just didn't know when.

"Just try me, Savage," the gladiator growled. "I'll be ready. And I will be the one to come out on top."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	5. Opportunity Knocks You Over

**Chapter Five – Opportunity Knocks You Over**

 **Hello. It's been awhile since I've updated this story. Although, lately, I think I say that about all of my stories.. My apologies..  
**

 **Hope you enjoy. And thank you for reading.**

* * *

Far from the city of Kaon, two vehicles drove through the Badlands. Two streams of dust were kicked up from beneath their tires as they sped across the rough terrain.

One went over most of the obstacles in his path, his bigger frame and tires more suited for the landscape than his younger companion.

The other weaved around and between the larger metal boulders, finding the smoother path. He still kept close to the bigger vehicle, knowing that even in the deserted parts of the Badlands, trouble lived and thrived.

Such was the way of the Badlands. It didn't matter where you were in them, you kept an optic out. You watched your back. And if you traveled with others, you watched theirs.

Hoping you trusted them enough to watch yours.

It had been orns since Roadrage and Nitro had lost their unwanted companions. The two siblings had been unable to find them it seemed.

Which suited them just fine.

Roadrage would have not cared if Nitro had decided to split off and go his own way. Even if the mechling was more tolerable than most mecha, as he had to admit.

However, even if he did not normally desire the company of others, the red warrior knew there was safety in numbers. It was fortunate to have Nitro, at the moment anyways.

He didn't know then how fortunate he was that Nitro had happened to leave Slaughter City the same offcycle he did.

Some orn, he would realize it.

Nitro also didn't know how fortunate he was.

* * *

The roar of a flying engine was the first sign that things were about to get interesting.

Too bad, Roadrage would think later, that they didn't heed the warning.

Nitro screeched to a halt, shortly followed by Roadrage.

Transforming, the young mech turned, lifting a hand to shield his optics as he searched the sky.

"What is that?"

More slowly, Roadrage transformed and joined in the search. "Don't know," the bigger thug muttered. "Probably just someone passing through."

Nitro narrowed his optics as he frowned. "It doesn't sound like any jet I've ever heard before. Definitely not a seeker."

"No," Roadrage agreed. "Let's keep going. If we keep up the pace, we should be out of here in a few orns." With that, he shifted back into his alt and drove on.

With a nod, and one last look for the incoming aircraft, Nitro followed. He soon noted that Roadrage was hurrying a little more than he had been previously.

Seemed like he had a strange feeling about this flier too.

From the sounds of it, the mecha was not a small one. Or even an average size.

Even though Nitro wasn't exactly afraid of mecha bigger than him, he'd have a lot of mecha to be afraid of if he did, he figured that sometimes, it was just better to leave them alone.

And the feeling he was getting said to hustle out of there as fast as they could.

Apparently Roadrage had the same feeling.

And he was a big mecha.

As the two drove, the noise of the flier's approach followed them. Getting louder too.

Suddenly, they spotted the mecha.

At first, just a dark dot on the horizon behind them, the jet grew gradually larger.

Nitro's estimate of the size of the mecha was soon proved very off.

Not only was the mecha large, they were absolutely huge.

Basically, a transport, only a flying one.

"Roadrage- "

"I see him." Roadrage replied. "Where has that one been hiding that we haven't heard about him before? He's big enough that everyone should know about him."

Nitro said nothing. He was running scenarios through his helm in case the giant should land.

Internally, both hoped that he wasn't a hostile.

But both knew, this was the Badlands. One of the unspoken rules out here was assume everyone is a hostile. If you didn't have that mindset, you'd likely end up offline.

Nitro wasn't certain if Roadrage had had a set destination in mind when he first left Slaughter City. He knew he didn't, he was following Roadrage until he figured something out.

The young mechling had wondered if Roadrage knew something he didn't. He had kept on going ever since they'd left, never stopping for long. And they were still heading away from Slaughter City.

Nitro sort of doubted that their former boss would bother to send someone after them.

Maybe Roadrage simply wanted to get far away from where they'd lived. But maybe, he was trying to put distance in between them and the city-state for a reason.

Maybe, he suspected someone would follow them.

But did their boss know this giant that seemed to be following? Or was it purely coincidental?

"Prepare for a confrontation, Nitro," Roadrage growled as he suddenly hit the brakes.

Nitro slid to a stop, skidding several feet past the bigger mecha before he did. After transforming into his bipedal form, he turned back to watch.

Roadrage was already standing, servo cannon deployed and ready. He glared towards the incoming flier, patiently waiting.

Stepping forward to stand beside him, Nitro withdrew the handguns that he'd stolen from the two guards a few decacycles earlier. Checking their ammo, he wondered if they would do any good against the giant mecha if they decided to be hostile.

He was uncertain whether or not his martial arts or knives would give the mecha much trouble either.

"Any idea of who this is?" the mechling inquired, giving Roadrage a sideways look.

"No idea," came the gruff response. "That's why we're stopped."

The two waited in silence.

They didn't have to wait long.

As the aerial transport neared, it slowed down and began to descend, confirming their suspicion of it landing.

Once he was low enough, the mech transformed, freefalling for the rest of the way. He landed a short distance away with a loud thud, shaking the ground beneath him. Along with the two mecha standing nearby.

Nitro noted two familiar figures jump down from the giant's shoulders and groaned.

"You've got to be kidding me," he hissed lowly.

"What are they doing with him?" questioned Roadrage, furrowing his optic ridges.

The pair watched as the giant straightened from his crouch, examining him for any visible weaknesses.

There didn't seem to be any.

The mech was powerfully built, even with his wings now folded on his backplates, he was massive. Heavy double, perhaps even triple-layer armour plating adorned his torso and servos.

Nitro estimated that his height must be around forty feet.

Meaning he had likely over a ten-foot height difference between him and Roadrage.

Leaving Nitro and the two figures standing beside the giant as minuscule in comparison.

"He's a triplechanger," Roadrage said, noting the treads on the mech. "Interesting."

Nitro nodded but said nothing, studying the trio.

" _Now what?"_ he wondered.

The giant was the first to speak.

"Greetings," he said loudly, studying the armoured vehicle and the two-wheeler warily. Surely, he had noticed their weapons. Whether or not he was concerned by them, was unknown from the lack of expression on his faceplate. Or any movement from his frame.

"What is your business?" Roadrage called back.

"Hi! Remember us?" Taser yelled, gesturing to herself and her brother.

The femmeling began walking towards them. "You kind of lost us. Not sure what happened, like if you forgot or it was on purpose or what."

Nitro and Roadrage exchanged a look.

" _How dumb_ are _these two?"_ Nitro groaned internally.

"Anyways, we found someone else when we were looking for you two," Taser continued, pointing over her shoulder. She had by then, reached Roadrage and Nitro, and stood with her hands on her hips waiting a response.

She likely didn't get the response she wanted.

Roadrage scoffed. "Great. You found someone else to annoy. And it looks like he's returning you to me."

Turning his attention to the giant mech, he scowled. "You can keep them. I don't want to sparklingsit them anymore."

The mech simply rose an optic ridge as Taser started sputtering in rage.

"How dare you? We are not sparklings!"

"Taser," Dagger called, swiftly moving forward to retrieve his sister before she did something they'd regret.

Whirling to face him, she gave him a dirty look. "Don't you care what he just said about us?" Clenching her fists, she turned back to Roadrage, stalking forward.

"I oughta show you what's what, you overgrown- "

Dagger lunged and caught her by the doorwings, dragging her backwards. "Let's not insult him, eh? And I believe the big one is behind us, not in front of us."

"Depends who you're comparing," mused Roadrage. He still hadn't moved his attention away from the triplechanger. "Who's your friend anyways."

"Like I'd tell you!" snapped Taser. She wrenched herself away from Dagger, but didn't step forward again.

Nitro tilted his helm and smirked. "Just like you refused to tell us your name and business when we first met?"

Taser crossed her servos, optics burning in anger as she glared holes in the two-wheeler's helm.

"Aww, how cute. The quiet one only opens his mouth to insult mecha," she growled.

"Sounds like someone else we know," Nitro replied quickly. He paused, as if thinking. Then, he grinned darkly, showing his sharp denta. "Oh, wait. Your mouth is never closed."

Before Taser could react, Dagger slapped a hand over her mouth. "He's got a point. Maybe we should all shut up and get this over with."

By this time, the giant, seemingly forgotten by some until now, had reached the rest.

He seemed even bigger up close.

"What do you want?" Roadrage asked again, annoyed about this whole thing.

"I want you to join me," replied the mech, looking down at the rest of the mecha.

Roadrage could be patient when he wanted to. He could also really not be.

At the moment, his patience was wearing quite thin. Quite fast.

Raising his cannon, he growled, "Speak quickly or be on your way."

Nitro followed Roadrage's lead, pointing his guns at the siblings, watching all three of them carefully.

While Dagger and Taser fidgeted slightly, the giant stood perfectly still, unfazed by the deadly weapon pointed at him.

"Your small friends here told me about you two after I found them," he rumbled. "I am on a recruiting mission for my employer."

"What employer?" Roadrage challenged suspiciously. "And how did you find us?"

"That is classified. And they guessed," the mech replied, nodding his helm in the siblings' direction.

"That's not an answer, big pede. Hurry up and make you point or I'm going to shoot."

The giant rolled his optics. "Your skills are wanted for an operation. These two say you have experience in something perhaps similar. That you are thieves and fighters. I am here to recruit you two and bring you back. If the boss approves, then he will hire you."

"Not interested. Now scram," Roadrage said. He powered up his cannon, making his request even clearer.

The hum of the cannon concerned Dagger and Taser, but not their newfound companion.

Faceplate emotionless, he stared down at Roadrage.

"I do not advise that. And I did not ask you if you were interested. You are coming with me." He shifted his gaze to Nitro. "Both of you."

"Don't think so, big pede," growled Roadrage.

To the great surprise of all that were present, the giant lunged forward. He grabbed Roadrage's extended servo and picked him up, just as the red and black fired at him. The shot went wild as he was thrown several yards to the side.

Dagger and Taser had no time to watch, mouths gaping as they stared. Nitro moved, launching himself towards them.

" _How convenient they are so close together,"_ he thought as his pedes made contact with their frames. In seconds, the siblings were on the ground and Nitro was back on his pedes.

Seeing that Roadrage was getting back up, the giant walked towards him. "Have you changed your mind about coming peacefully."

Roadrage growled, putting away his cannon. With a war cry, he charged the bigger mech, intent on hitting his tank with his shoulder.

Unfortunately for him, the mech saw that move coming. Spreading his pedes to brace himself, he lowered a large servo to block the hit. Roadrage knew what he was doing, and ducked at the last astroklik.

The giant mech's optics widened a fraction as he was hit in the knee joint, causing him to stumble.

Roadrage smirked as he threw a powerful punch to the other one. "Not as tough as you look, are you."

The reply he got was to be thrown again.

Nitro reached the triplechanger just after Roadrage hit the dirt for the second time. He pulled out a knife and stuck it between his denta so his hands would be free. Leaping upwards, he grabbed the back of the mech's pede and began to climb.

The mech noticed right away and tried to shake or swat the pest off. It didn't work. Nitro just kept climbing until he reached his shoulders.

Being distracted, Roadrage was unnoticed as he approached once again. He managed to get several solid hits to the mech's midsection before he retaliated.

Roadrage ducked the swipe towards his helm, then threw another punch to the mech's chest. He grunted in pain, then swung again, catching the warrior in the shoulder this time.

Nitro removed the knife from his mouth and reached a hand around to the front of the giant's neck cables.

"It might be wise to stop now," the mechling hissed in his audio.

Feeling the cold blade against his neck cables, the giant faltered for an astroklik.

Roadrage saw his opening and took it.

But it wasn't really an opening. It was a trick.

The giant grabbed him and held tight, locking him in a helmlock.

"Want your friend's neck to be snapped?" the giant asked the small mecha perched on his shoulders.

Feeling the mechling hesitate, moving the knife away ever so slightly, the mech moved.

Fast.

With a quick motion, he knocked Roadrage out, letting him fall limply to the ground. He then brought his helm forward, then slammed it backwards into Nitro.

The mechling lost his grip when he was hit. His optics widened as the mech grabbed his pede and pulled him off, swinging him towards the ground.

The last thing Nitro knew was hitting that ground. Hard.

Then, everything went black.

* * *

 **So, yeah. That worked out well for our two thugs.  
Stay tuned for what happens next! :)**


End file.
